From public school to Ivymount

[Anonymous]

We are moving to the area and have a 5 year old PDD-NOS. I was told that in order to go to a school like Ivymount, I would have to do a year in public school and then apply for funding. Is this true? My concern is that my child will not do well in public school, with larger classrooms. Also, once your child is in public school, how many children a school like Ivymount take, since it's small? I mean what are the chances that you'll end up at Ivymount?

Any parents who made that switch? How was it, and why was your child considered?

[Anonymous]

OP -- i think it's probably best to talk to an education consultant (even though it's expensive, unfortunately) to get a better sense of the realities of getting into Ivymount for your child.

It's not necessarily true that you have to go to public school to get funding for Ivymount. However, in my experience, the private special needs schools are considered, by the school districts, as options ONLY if the public schools cannot meet your child's needs.

That's why it's best to talk to a consultant about the details of your child's situation, and what makes the most sense for him/her.

[Anonymous]

You should call Ivymount and talk to them too. They know A LOT about funding.

[Anonymous]

I have heard that it is almost impossible to get Fairfax to pay for Ivymount.

My sense in general is that the counties here pay for special needs private schools much less often than what happens in other areas like NYC.

[Anonymous]

Can you afford to pay for Ivymount privately?

[Anonymous]

Also, there are many schools around here that may be appropriate for a child with a PDD diagnosis, depending on how much support he needs. You may want to cast a wider net than just Ivymount.

[Anonymous]

There is no information on the Ivymount website about the tuition and fees which is an indication that it is extremely expensive and most students receive public funding. Most schools will post a separate link for tuition and financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no information on the Ivymount website about the tuition and fees which is an indication that it is extremely expensive and most students receive public funding.

That's what I was told when I was calling around.

[Anonymous]

I think the PP who suggesting calling Ivymount raises a good point. The fact that they dont post their tuition is a sign that its not your run of the mill costly SN school and perhaps they do get much of their funding from school districts. When we were considering Ivymount for our child, they spent a lot of time on the phone with me talking through out individual situation, whether it was appropriate, funding prospects etc. Not saying you shouldn't also talk to a consultant, but at least that phone call is free!

[Anonymous]

Getting public funding is difficult no matter where you live. I would hire a lawyer, not a consultant.

[Anonymous]

This is a terribly sad article from 2011. At the end it mentions that tuition at Ivymount is dependent upon the child's need but can run upwards if $60K

http://news.yahoo.com/md-mom-killed-son-agonized-over-school-costs-170100532.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no information on the Ivymount website about the tuition and fees which is an indication that it is extremely expensive and most students receive public funding. Most schools will post a separate link for tuition and financial aid.

Not SN schools IME.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that it is almost impossible to get Fairfax to pay for Ivymount.

My sense in general is that the counties here pay for special needs private schools much less often than what happens in other areas like NYC.

The only time I saw a statistics on this was that Fairfax had less than 300 children in private facilities. Out of 150,000 students at the time. It may have grown since then, but I have never been able to find a statistic. It was in an article comparing DC, which was over 2,000 students and Montgomery County which had 400-600 students. And it was 5 or so years ago. DC has significantly reduced that number since.

OP- what are your DC's issues?

[Anonymous]

http://www.ivymount.org/support.cfm?subpage=87

"While the majority of our students are funded by local school systems with state assistance, the tuition pays for only a portion of their education. Staffing for special programs, technology hardware and software, assistive communication devices, and program transportation needs are but a few examples of areas that require other funding sources."

So, it does appear that they get the majority of their funding from local school systems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are moving to the area and have a 5 year old PDD-NOS. I was told that in order to go to a school like Ivymount, I would have to do a year in public school and then apply for funding. Is this true? My concern is that my child will not do well in public school, with larger classrooms. Also, once your child is in public school, how many children a school like Ivymount take, since it's small? I mean what are the chances that you'll end up at Ivymount?

Any parents who made that switch? How was it, and why was your child considered?

PDD-NOS is not severe enough to warrant private school funding in Fairfax or Montgomery. Both have dedicated autism programs within the public school system.